Talking about current and future technology for the Television and Motion Pictures Industry as well as a surprising amount of information on food

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Now that everyone you know has chimed in on the New MacPro, lets take a breath and look at reality, if you have been following Apple for any time at all, you know that they rarely if ever do what people think they will do.

Apple hardware has consistently gotten more unified, compact, and more refined. The iPhone has become a standard for all handsets, the Macbook Air stole the netbook market right out from underneath the PC world, then Apple finished it’s assault on the low end PC market by releasing the iPad, and even more than with the iPhone changed how we interface with devices, for the tablet was born and my computing was changed forever.

Apple’s sleek designonce more alienates.

Yes this is a radical departure from the existing product design, however some of the most Iconic of Apple’s hardware designs, The Cube, LUXO, the Candy Colored IMacs as well as the 20th Anniversary model all gave users iconic design, why does this Tube scare everyone so?

Because its different? Is that not what Apple has been about for a very long time? Get over it.

The New MacPro offers some stunning specs, albeit in a new way. Look Apple once again defined how users will interact with hardware, if you did not seem it wise to start embracing Thunderbolt, with this new MacPro, it is abundantly clear that it is and will be the future of device connectivity, with PC companies like HP fully behind Thunderbolt, the TB2 specs on this box ( Ok TUBE) blow me out the of the water.

Those TB2 ports can handle up to 36 peripheral devices, that can include storage, I/O to Firewire, Fibre or 10gE or SAS externally and the “3-4K Displays” Apple has been touting in the marketing

Inline storage moduleon the new MacPro

Memory Questions: The internal storage is defined as PCIe Flash, now for the unknowing, this is by a wide margin the fastest possible. This is accessing your main storage at the speed of a RAM disk. One interesting thing to note in the Apple approved photos is that they are only showing 1 storage module.

The funny thing I see is that both of those fixed AMD graphics cards appear to have a place to allow for a second PCIe Flash module. I am wondering about the price and volumes for that storage, today it’s very expensive. Current PCIe Flash storage is available from companies like Fusion Io and even online retailers like Other World Computing and it’s fairly expensive for all but power users. My guess is that since Apple is changing the marketplace once again, the cost for PCIe Flash modules will reduce as the demand increases.

Note the place for the inline PCIeFlash module in the middle of the right side Graphics card and space for the same type of module on the left is mysteriously open. When did Apple ever leave wasted space in a machine this compact

What’s Possible

One other thing to note is the mysteriously missing PCIe memory module that could / should be in the same location on the left side graphics card in all of the Apple PR images.

From personal experience there is never a lot of free space to waste internally on an Apple device I have opened in the last few years, so I am wondering if that “open space” might be useable as part of the yet unannounced “Build-To-Order possibilities?

The Form Factor Matters

I am stunned by the small size, because at roughly 10″x 7″ this thing small, geez 8 of them fit in the same space as the previous tower form factor, I am just not comfortable with a rolly-poly, tube shaped computer when a good deal of my workstation level projects happen onset or on the road and that cylindrical shape is fraught with desperation for anyone needed to physically mount the machine for portability. Rack mounted computers have become the norm for DIT’s and Loaders, yet the new form factor does nothing to solve issues for that specific market.

Cuda vs OpenCL

The Open CL vs Cuda debate is a separate issue to me completely. Adobe’s backbone based in the Nvidia’s “Cuda” processes is only a minor advantage over the current OpenCL code being utilized for Apple processors, now if we can add Nvidia back into the mix as part of the BTO options, this might actually keep many of those power users from finally jumping off the MacPro wagon and onto an HP workstation.

I for one am keeping my HP Z800 right where it’s at, it’s the most powerful workhorse in my office and offers me power and performance unrivaled. That does not mean I am giving up my Mac’s. It means I have to live in a performance based world and much like with my retina laptop, it may take a little time to get the New MacPro and all of the associated peripherals to make it out to be the workstation it wants to be.

Finally.

This machine can’t possible be anything more for most user, It will have the fastest internal architecture possible, the fastest external connectivity and a lot of it, while the user configurable options will be more limited that in the past, the future upgradability is undeniable. Lost in the design debate so far is that most “power” users never add or remove parts from their MacPro’s once they are configured, the only difference with the new Apple is they want to control that at the manufacturing stage for the highest quality possible.

Apple has once again broken new ground, even if I don’t initially like what it looks like. I am thinking I will start a new biz doing skins for the New MacPro.

Thunderbolt, Changing the future of Production and Post
A 90 minute discussion on how Intel’s Thunderbolt Technology is changing the future of moving and handling data both onset and in post.

In a medium where moving massive amounts of data is an everyday occurrence, Intel’s Thunderbolt technology stands to change how data is handled. Utilizing Thunderbolt in your workflow means meeting or exceeding data transfer speeds on portable computers that rival the fastest desktop systems.

Gary will be highlighting many of the tools and techniques for proper data handling and how the fast evolving Thunderbolt landscape is smashing most of preconceived ideas people have about this groundbreaking technology and what it means for your current and future usage, whether you are on location or alone in your studio.

With the big show in the desert just a couple of weeks away, I thought I would offer some ideas and insights for anyone that will be joining us for what has become the largest conclave of media enthusiasts in the world.

With nearly 80,000 attendees, virtually all working in some field related to the creation and delivery of moving pictures, NAB is without a doubt, the place to be for the first 2 weeks of April.

I will be offering insights and ideas about what I see on the floor as well as what is not at the show, as well as a full followup the week afterwards.

What is coming?

Well, I know of at least 2 new camera’s to be shown (which means there will be 5-6) as well as established companies offering their adaptations of existing technologies. Even as I write this I see an email about new cameras to be shown by Hitachi ( and not one of the leaders on my list of camera companies)

I expect to see some a couple of usable post tools, hopefully to simplify our lives, as well as a big leap as well as a major announcement from one of the 3 major NLE solutions at the show.

Lighting too will be taking a huge leap this year, I was lucky enough to test some of the new @Litepanels Inca series fresnel lights for some Pre-NAB shoots and I have to say that it took me a couple of days to get used to a 2K fresnel that did not require gloves to handle! Even after being on for most of the day, the fans in the INCA keep the temperature of the light to less than a hot cup of coffee.

The last thing I will leave you with today, there is change ahead. I expect to see a couple of major Thunderbolt announcements, one that could possibly change the future course of the desktop NLE.